Polica with Gardens and Villa @ Union Transfer.

Text by Marissa Jane. Images by Grace Dickinson.

Channy Leaneagh of Polica (top image) humbly spoke to the audience last Wednesday, saying the band had “a special place in their hearts” for Union Transfer, where they had played one of their first-ever shows just a year ago. They had been the openers for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in what was also the first show ever played at the year-old venue.

Polica was back in Philly for their third time since. Santa Barbara quintet Gardens and Villa opened the night, with singer Chris Lynch remarking (like Wild Nothing‘s Jack Tatum did last week) that, “This is the most beautiful venue we’ve ever played.”

Villa’s synth-filled pop choruses presented awesome grooves that turned even awesome-er when Lynch periodically whipped out a bamboo flute from his backpack. Not one sound was produced by a computer, not even the haunting chants or well-polished percussion.

While some of the music on Polica’s tracks were pre-recorded, talented dueling drummers and a solo bassist set tight R&B tracks against the electronic waves. But as soon as Leanaugh started singing, the blues groove transformed into a soaring, otherworldly tune pinned down only by expertly-crafted rhythm and bass.

Leanaugh performed shoeless with her tattoos (one of the word “gypsy”) clearly visible. Her face contorted to execute every auto-tuned note she sang, simultaneously spewing sadness and joy all over the audience.

Polica is a well-oiled machine – an incredible band coupled with Leanaugh’s searingly honest caged-bird songs. It’s easy to see why Justin Vernon of Bon Iver called Polica “the greatest band I’ve ever heard.” Polica is destined to soar to much higher world recognition.

With only one studio album, Give You the Ghost, expect to hear more from this indie-rock band from Minneapolis soon. Their encore contained two new songs, “Tripping,” and “Spilling,” which added more synth but stuck to the elegiac melodies of tracks like “Dark Star” and “Maker.”

They’re set for a European tour with Phantogram next month.